Agriculture is Our Culture

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For more than a century, Eastern States Exposition has celebrated the farms, families and agricultural traditions that help define New England’s way of life. From the hardworking hands that sow, harvest and raise livestock year-round to the next generation carrying these legacies forward, agriculture remains central to our region’s identity and future.

Through The Big E and year-round competitions, agricultural programs at Eastern States Exposition welcome participation from nearly 40 states and Canada, far surpassing the geographic reach of any other state fair, nationwide. With that reach comes a responsibility to give farmers a voice.

Agriculture Is Our Culture is a video series highlighting farmers from throughout New England, sharing their stories, honoring their work and exploring the pride, perseverance and innovation that make agriculture not just an industry, but a culture.

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Great Brook Farm Sugar House is owned and operated by Dave and Cindy Westover and their son, Andy, on the tenth-generation Great Brook Farm.

Great Brook Farm was founded 10 generations ago, in 1761, on a 170-acre property in Walpole, NH. They were once a dairy farm with cows and crops sold at an on-site farm store. Now, they are a dedicated state-of-the-art maple syrup producer that values quality, education and community above all. Their product is distributed at a handful of nearby vendors and served in nearby restaurants.

The farm serves memorable experiences and teachable moments as much as it does delicious syrup; they offer tastings, public and private tours, demonstrations and schools visits throughout the year.

In addition to owning Great Brook Farm, Cindy Westover is a proud ESE Trustee. Her background in farming makes her passionate about the not-for-profit’s mission to advance agriculture and preserve New England heritage, often by the same means that she and her family do in Walpole.

Mineral Hills Winery is owned and operated by Sue and Larry Godard and their daughter, Anna, on the fourth-generation Godard’s Red Hen Farm.

The farm is nestled in the wooded back roads of Florence, Mass. At its inception, the winery produced just 50 cases of wine annually. Now, Mineral Hills produces more than 1,400 cases of wine each year.

When college sweethearts Larry and Sue met through their roommates, the connection was instantaneous. The years passed, their romance grew, and eventually so did Larry’s interest in Sue’s family’s farming and winery business.

Nowadays, they grow grapes, blueberries and apples; raise chickens; and Sue keeps bees and harvests natural honey. The Godards also enter their wines in the Northeast Gold Wine Competition at ESE each summer. During The Big E, their award-winning products can be purchased at the Eastern States Farmers Market and Wine Café at ESE in West Springfield, Mass.

ESE introduces Commissioner Randle and Kadzik, two women shaped and bettered by their foundational experiences in 4-H.

Commissioner Randle is a fifth-generation dairy farmer, and she was sworn in as the twenty-first MDAR Commissioner by Governor Maura T. Healey in 2023. Prior to her role, she served as Deputy Commissioner/Legislative and Policy Director since 2018. Now, she is the first woman to lead the department. She credits her involvement with the Franklin County 4-H Dairy Program and many days at The Big E with refining her passion for agriculture. These days she lends her talents as a licensed Massachusetts attorney and knowledgeable agriculturist to the entire Commonwealth.

Lizzy Kadzik of Huntington, Mass., is a senior at Gateway Regional High School and plans to study nursing in college. At school, she plays varsity soccer and softball. Kadzik has been a member of Hampden County 4-H since 2021, and she shows dairy cattle through the program. She has been exhibiting at The Big E since 2022 but has been a fairgoer for longer. Kadzik was first acquainted with Commissioner Randle when she joined the Agricultural Youth Council, an initiative started by the commissioner.

"The Cecchi family once exhibited produce at The Big E when Bobby and Michael were children. Now, they supply fresh produce to the Moses Building for 4-H students to enjoy while they dorm during the Fair."

Erminio and Anna Cecchi first started their farm in 1946. The first greenhouse was erected in 1947, and it stood for 50 years before it was replaced with a modern model. The current farm stand was constructed in 1953. Erminio’s son, Robert Sr., ran the farm with his wife, Emily, through the 1970s-1980s. Now, his boys, Robert Jr. (Bobby) and Michael, continue the family business.

"Yankee Rock Farm was founded by sweethearts brought together by a shared passion for showing competitive livestock and living their days in bucolic bliss. "

Mutual interests found Swanson and Siegmund at many of the same events, including a fateful sheep sale in Ohio where a spark turned into a flame that burned all the way back to the East Coast. For five years, the couple merged their separate flocks to the best of their abilities, but Yankee Rock Farm became tangible in 2024 when they purchased “the old Rutter farm” in Champlain Valley, Verm. The rest is modern history

Meet Maureen “Mo” Freniere: Deputy Director of Sales at Eastern States Exposition by day and farmer/caretaker by night.

Take a trip to Prospect Valley Farm, a Freniere family-owned-and-operated beef and dairy farm in Westfield, Massachusetts. Our very own Maureen Freniere provides a brief history of her business, her love of agriculture, and shares why Eastern States Exposition is paramount to her family’s mission.

Mike Antonellis recounts how Ciesluk Farms of Deerfield, Massachusetts, survived one of the greatest natural disasters in local history: the flooding of 2023.

When Mike Antonellis lost 65% of his crops to stormwater surges, the future of farming looked bleak for him and other agrarian businesses in Western Massachusetts. He reflects on the hardships he endured and the salvific Massachusetts Farm Resiliency Fund relief effort by the state and proud sponsors, like Eastern States Exposition.

“It’s not a family farm–it’s part of the family,” states Gordon Cook II, recipient of The Big E’s 2022 Agriculture Adventurers Award.

Cook Farms in Hadley, Massachusetts, offers delectable dairy and beef products, such as their homemade ice cream, through their storefront: Flayvors of Cook Farm. To the Cook family, agriculture is fiscal stability, holistic education, and a labor of love–above all, agriculture is their culture.

"A tale as old as time: the dairy farmer and the sheep farmer fall in love at a state fair. "

This year, Scott and Moira Poitras celebrated 23 years of marriage–a marriage that took place on The Big E fairgrounds! For even longer than that, these two and their respective relatives have upheld the farming traditions that are embraced by Eastern States Exposition, right down to our mission statement.